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A double-blade tablesaw setup cuts tenons qUickly and accurately because both tenon cheeks are cut simultaneously. A tal� shopmade auxiliary fence, fitted with a regular miter gauge, supports and steadies the work. An upright backup board minimizes tearout. Spacers and shims between blades make setup fast and accurate by Mac Campbell Double-Blade Tablesaw Tenoning I 72 operate a custom woodworking shop, making pieces individually designed for each client, so I can't take a able, repetitive operations that are the bread and butter of many production shops. Profits are important, though, and I wanted to apply assembly-line efficiency to my custom work This lead me to standardize and str dvan eaml㜾䛭e Fine Woodworking many common furnituremaking operations. joinery was an ideal first candidate for this standardization. Like many furnituremakers, I rely heavily on mortise-and-tenon joints. The components' sizes and the members to be joined may change, but the joints are all pretty much the same. After a little experimenting, I came up with an efficient, no-fuss system for cutting the tenons on the tablesaw using two blades separated by shims and spacers to cut both cheeks at once, as shown in the photo above. The precisely machined shims and spacers can be arranged in various combinations to produce tenons to fit any of the mortises I tage of the profit- commonly use in my furniture. Once the blades are set, cutting the tenons is simply a matter of running the stock on end through the saw. An auxiliary fence and a miter gauge with a backup board increase the stability and safety of the cut and reduce tearout. Tenon shoulders are also cut on the tablesaw using a sliding crosscut box. This system can quickly produce most tenons, even angled or stub tenons; plus, it offers several other advantages. First, it is predictable: Follow a series of easily repeatable steps, and the result is the same every time. Second, the resulting joints are structurally sound. And, finally, the system works despite the gremlins that inhabit a woodworking shop-the inevitable variations in stock thicknesses and working characteristics of different species don't alter the results. Because the size of the mortise determines the exact tenon thickness, I cut the mortises first and then adjust my tenoning system to produce the proper tenons. Theoretically, you could calcu